by Pappy September 30th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
Matt’s Basement Workshop’s latest episode, dated September 27th, features the Jig of the Month: the Taper Sled. Tune in using the player at the bottom of this post, and be sure to check out Matt’s site, which includes a matching PDF file with full drawings and instructions for making this jig.
by Pappy September 29th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
The latest episode of Woodworking Online’s video podcast is out, “Episode #25: Using Hand Planes & Scrapers for a Smooth Finish”.
Check out the show notes, while watching the show.
Episode #25: Using Hand Planes and Scrapers for a Smooth Finish: Play Now | Play in Popup | Downloadby Pappy September 29th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
The latest episode of Wood Walk Online, an audio podcast which can be downloaded or listened to online, is out.
Listen to it using the embedded player at the bottom of this post, check out this episode’s show notes, and be sure to explore the Wood Talk Online website - there’s lots of great information there.
by Pappy September 29th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
I’ve been doing a lot of research and reading on various joining techniques lately, so it was very serendipitous when the latest issue of the Fine Woodworking eLetter showed up in my in-box today with the plans for a simple little shoulder block jig for doing dovetails by hand.
Click the thumbnail for a full-sized image, and then read the accompanying article here. Several of these in various sizes will be nice to have in the shop.
by Pappy September 28th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
Members of Plans Now.Com, a free service for project plans delivered to your e-mail in-box, are automatically entered to win a One+ lithium cordless tools kit from Ryobi.
Go get your free membership now and get in on your chance for more free tools.
by Pappy September 28th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
The Taunton Press, publishers of “Fine Woodworking” magazine, are having a huge sale on their woodworking instructional DVDs. Everything is 20 percent off right now, so it may be a good time to pull out your newbie wish list and get some video help on the cheap…
Any generous benefactors wishing to bestow a gift to ol’ Pappy can buy me “Making Mortise and Tenon Joints“.
by Pappy September 28th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
“Woodworker’s Journal” eZine issue 182 is out and includes free plans for stackable, desktop paper trays, originally published in Volume 8, Issue 2 of “The Woodworker’s Journal” (March/April 1984). You can download them here.
by Pappy September 28th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
The Handyman Club of America has released the September 26th edition of their e-mail newsletter. This issue is focused on getting to know your chainsaw, from maintenance, to safety, and sharpening. You can read the article here, and don’t miss the “Chainsaw A to Z” video while you’re there.
They also have two contests going on at the moment:
The first is their September/October 2007 Great Giveaway. You can enter once per day until October 31st for a prize pack from Wagner that includes the Control Spray tool, DeckMate, Roll’N Go Power Roller, Paint Crew paint sprayer, and a PaintEater pain-removal tool. The total retail value for the grand prize package is $435.
They also have their September 2007 Click and Win contest, with prizes including a Water Wise air purifier, Pro-Cut saw guide, Tape Wrangler duct tape dispenser, and an Easy Reach pole for paint rollers.
Don’t miss your chance at free tools…
by Pappy September 26th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
Two posts back I mentioned I was looking into CAD or other drafting programs for drawing out project plans. I still am, and in fact, the one I’m leaning towards is Google’s free SketchUp software. However, the learning curve on most of these applications can be steep, and I didn’t want to postpone my next project while I wade through hours of tutorial videos and trial and error attempts. So, for this next project I’ve reverted back to my old stand-by favorite, Microsoft Image Composer. It’s simple, easy to use, and I can create my own methodologies for drawing plans to scale. For example, on the potato box project, my smallest unit of measurement is 1/16 of an inch, so I created a grid with 16 by 16 pixel squares, which equates to each square representing 1 inch. Drawing out the two dimensional workpieces over this grid then becomes a simple task. For now it works. I’d love to hear your preferred methods for drawing out plans.
I’ve gotten a few e-mails asking why I write out dimensional notation the way I do instead of using standard nomenclature. For example:
24 inches by 12 inches by 5/8 inch
instead of:
24″ x 12″ x 5/8″
The reason for this is for compatibility with text-to-speech. You may have noticed the “Listen Now” button at the top of each post. This is a great service provided by Odiogo.com that dynamically converts textual RSS feeds into well spoken, synthetic speech audio files. This enables any blog to be turned into a decent quality podcast without the author having to so much as look at a microphone. I’ve found some small anomalies with the way their interpreter translates dimensional nomenclature, however, so I’ve started writing it out in a manner that’s both readable as well as can be pronounced by the Odiogo engine. Project plan diagrams will still continue to use more standard nomenclature.
The last administrative note I’ll make is concerned with Wordpress, the software used to publish this site. They released a major new version yesterday and I’ve already upgraded. There are a few small edits I’m making to make the site compatible with new features, so you may experience minor interruptions or display anomalies. Hopefully most of it will be non-invasive and you won’t even notice.
by Pappy September 26th, 2007, Posted in: Woodworking
Hot on the heels of completing my first project, I’m anxious to get going with the next one. This time around I’m going to go with the advice of the online community and work on a box. A wheeled potato box, to be exact. As I described previously, Ya Ya wants a dry storage box she can roll under the bottom shelf in her walk-in pantry for putting vegetables in. We go through a lot of staples like potatoes and onions so it should get plenty of use.
Let’s take a look at the basic design for this project. Click on the thumbnail for a full-sized copy of the plans.
Workpieces:
Hardware:
I started measuring and cutting last night, and already made at least one lame mistake, but we’ll save something for the next post.
Pappy´s Place
I am an internet publisher, software developer, amateur woodworker, writer, guitar player, singer, sketch artist, astronomer, seeker of knowledge, and atheist. This site is a place for me to post about all that I love: in whatever eclectic manner they may or may not relate.
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